Saints alums and students teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in
Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China

How do you know when you are, finally, a “teacher”? What does it take to
become a teacher? And a good one, at that? How much practice do you need?

Old questions.

Still unanswered, definitively, that is. I have been teaching since 1996 when
I started my doctoral work at the University of Kentucky and I still don’t know
the answers to these questions. Of course, I’m not completely without some
thoughts on the subject, but I largely think that, in the end, it has a lot to
do with the answer to the old joke: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

So, practice, yes, is important. But there is more. There is the interaction
between a teacher and her or his students, of course. But there is also the
community that fellow teachers share. The best teachers discuss the craft with
each other. It is not just something they do, but something they live. Not just
a job, but a vocation. But that still doesn’t quite capture it all either.

Tristan has conducted poetry-writing seminars on our campus as part of his
MFA project and is currently working both on campus in the ESOL program and
right this minute is teaching business English to professionals at our affiliate
university in Xi’an, China.

Erika is currently conducting her student teaching at a nearby school. In
China, she spoke often about her students and was ever on the search for
something to bring them that was both meaningful and practical for a large
class. I know they are happy to have her back, but will also be excited to hear
her stories about students in China.

Spencer, a soon-to-be newly minted engineer, is considering teaching as a
career, as his wife has already done. It was an honor to witness how this
experience was a huge leap forward for his teaching skills, and I know he and
his wife are already considering returning to Inner Mongolia after graduation to
teach some more.

While I have been fortunate enough to travel to China before, traveling there
with students who would be teaching was a new experience for me, made even more
rewarding because this was the first time to China for Erika, Spencer, and
Tristan. Besides the practical experience of working with EFL college students
(mostly) and gradeschoolers (parts of two days), China, with its long,
complicated, and fascinating history, is a must-see country for anyone willing
to explore outside their American comfort zone. And once there, people will find
a country growing at a dizzying rate, with many people who are eager, just as we
were, to connect to people outside their own borders.

So, how did I end up in Inner Mongolia? Well, it is interesting to consider
how the desire of a colleague from the other side of the world to become a
better teacher is affecting the lives of so many. A few years ago, SMU was
fortunate to have IMUST English professor Leah Dong come to our campus,
unofficially, and ask to meet with professors and students, and to attend
classes. She was in the area visiting friends and wanted to learn more about the
American system of education. One of the many classes she attended was
“Reframing 9/11: Narratives from the Aftermath,” a team-taught course that SMU
anthropology professor David Price, Ph.D. and I were teaching at the time. Leah
stayed with us about half the semester, read the material, and participated in
the conversations. It was a fruitful exchange all around.

But our relationship with Leah did not end there. Back home, she worked with
her university to invite and host a member of our English department. Once
there, in October ’11, I learned about the school and, though it is first and
foremost a science and technology school, it has an extensive English language
and literature program. I had taught before in China, with business majors who
were also studying the English language, but it was thrilling this time to
discuss the likes of Zora Neale Hurston and Edgar Allan Poe with interested
literature colleagues and students in China. From that meeting, then, came this
program for our SMU students.

Also, this Fall, SMU will have its first IMUST student! An English major who
has chosen the name Wendy (not because she is a fan of J. M. Barrie’s creation,
though she may be, but because this name closely matches the pronunciation of
her Chinese name) will come to campus as a junior in pursuit of a BA degree.

So, where does this latest experience with the young teachers Erika, Spencer
and Tristan leave me? This international exchange of ideas, learning and
teaching? It reminds me, yet again, that becoming a “superior” teacher is a
lifelong practice. Indeed, I am still working on it myself. That each new
classroom, exchange of ideas with fellow teachers, and teaching moment—whether
here or on foreign soil—is a new opportunity on an unknown path. That every
moment is an opportunity to practice our craft and take delight in the endless
possibilities that arise when both in and out of the classroom.